This is a rush transcript from “The Ingraham Angle,’ August 28, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: I'm Laura Ingraham, and this is The Ingraham Angle from a still rocking Washington tonight. Now we're going to get right into it.
A tale of two futures. That's the focus of tonight's "Angle."
You just witnessed two weeks, two parties' conventions, and two visions for America. Now, all weeklong, America saw Republican Party that was hopeful and optimistic about the future, capped off by a soaring address from the President last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Together we will write the next chapter of the great American story. Over the next four years, we will make America into the manufacturing superpower of the world. The United States will be the first nation to plant its beautiful flag on Mars.
We will rekindle new faith in our values, new pride in our history, and a new spirit of unity that can only be realized through love for our great country.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: Then, much to the dismay of the media hall monitors, our Energizer Bunny President traveled to New Hampshire tonight with thousands lined up to see and hear him. Now, once again, the contrast between him and Biden is stark.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: This is going to be, we are right now in the most important election in our history. Last night, it was my great honor to accept the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
(CHEERS & APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: We're going to win. I believe I have the honor of running against the worst candidate ever put up by the Democratic Party.
(CHEERS & APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: How do you get worse? I believe he is the worst candidate, the slowest candidate. And I mean, in primetime, he was the slowest candidate, which was a long time ago, primetime.
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: In Trump's America, we believe the best is truly yet to come. And this was said over and over by speakers at the RNC. It wasn't just rhetoric though. They really mean it. And that buoyant sunny outlook wasn't from celebrities who live behind walls and gates and have handlers, but from everyday Americans who've always been the focus of Trump's agenda for America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump's economic boon began helping dairy farmers across the nation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he sees something isn't right, he's fearless in fixing it. He listens to working people.
ALICE MARIE JOHNSON, CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM ADVOCATE: I was once told that the only way I would ever be reunited with my family would be as a corpse. But by the grace of God and the compassion of President Donald John Trump, I stand before you tonight and I assure you I'm not a ghost.
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: And contrary to what the long faces in the press claimed - did you see their faces last night? - the President didn't run away from COVID. He ran toward the issue. He noted the great tragedy we've suffered, talked about his own friends who've passed away because of the disease, and the great strides we've already made.
Now, again, the message? We're pushing forward with medical innovation, we've mobilized our resources, we saved the hospitals, but it's also time to open up, get back to school, and pursue our American dreams. We have to.
Now, on the other hand, at their convention, the Democrats painted a very depressing, gloomy portrait of American life. Did you know that you live in a horrible, rotten, awful country?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We call out and confront the original sins of this nation. The sins of slavery and racism.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It is the effect of structural racism. Let's be clear. There is no vaccine for racism.
JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: History has thrust one more urgent task on us. Will we be the generation that finally wipes out the stain of racism from our national character?
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: Now, while the Democrats were trying to convince you that poor old Joe should be put in charge, they refused to address the elephant - or I should say the rabid donkey in the room. The violence playing out in blue cities across America didn't want to talk about that during their convention.
So the Portland riots, destruction in Seattle, shooting and looting in Chicago - did they think - or maybe did they hope that swing state voters and independents somehow wouldn't see the video all over social media of all the burning and all the mayhem? Now, as I told you back in June, the Democrats had made a calculated decision not to address the violence, not to address the violence and riots as long as they thought that they were going to be helping them politically. And sure enough, the moment Don Lemon let it slip that some focus group somewhere was showing Democrat voter erosion because of the unrest. Well, Joe and Kamala tried to turn the titanic around.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: We must always defend peaceful protest and peaceful protesters. We should not confuse them with those looting and committing acts of violence.
BIDEN: Burning down communities is not protest. It's needless violence, violence that endangers lives, violence that guts businesses and shutters businesses that serve the community. That's wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: Talk about desperate and delusional. Now, it's too bad he and Kamala didn't have an entire convention week to condemn the riots. Right? Wait. Of course, they did.
Now, Trump has offered assistance to every governor and every mayor grappling with out-of-control violence. And how did they respond?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAYOR JENNY DURKAN (D) SEATTLE: First, I want to assure the President that Seattle is fine.
MAYOR TED WHEELER (D) PORTLAND: We have dozens, if not hundreds, of federal troops descending upon our city. It's not helping the situation at all. They're not wanted here.
MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT (D) CHICAGO: Mr. President, bringing those kind of troops to our city and try to take off our residents. That's not going to happen to Chicago.
MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D) ATLANTA: We're going to fight with everything that we have. Donald Trump and his minions are the architects of chaos in this country right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: Wait a second. Wait a second. It's Trump? With the architects - OK. They wanted the violence to go on, Joe Biden claimed. Now, by that logic, did he enjoy these scenes last night after the festivities ended?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you feel about police killing black people?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black lives matter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Black lives matter.
(CROWD CHANTING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible)
(CROWD CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: Now, I actually don't believe that poor old Joe likes these scenes, doesn't want it all burned down and people hassled in the streets, but he's too weak to stop it. And by the same token, I think there are a lot of Democrats who are probably embarrassed about the party's unsavory alliances. Their devil's bargain with their donor class and outsourcing American jobs, placating China? And I think most moderate Democrats want our cities to just be flattened? Mount Rushmore to come down? No, actually don't. But it doesn't matter. They chose Joe Biden, one of the weakest candidates in modern history, as their nominee.
And as Victor Davis Hanson said last night, Biden has become a prisoner of his own paradox. Because he himself has no energy. He tried to ride the energy of the far-left all the way to victory on November 3rd, but now it looks like that wave has pulled him under and a riptide of radicalism is drowning the Democrats. They have nothing to offer the voters. They can't solve the violence problem. And they're not equipped to fix it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I ask you a simple question. How can the Democrat Party ask to lead our country when it spends so much time tearing down our country?
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: They can't bring back jobs when their trade policies lead to more outsourcing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: For 47 years, Joe Biden took the donations of blue-collar workers and then he flew back to Washington and voted to ship our jobs to China.
China supports Joe Biden and desperately wants him to win. I can tell you that upon very good information.
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: Any idea that Joe Biden is going to solve COVID? Oh, please. He said he's going to lock us down if the experts say so into years of economic decline, of course. And we know it will lead to increased suicide, addiction, job losses. And Democrats' solution is to hurt kids by keeping them out of school during COVID and take away our simple joys like playing or watching football. None of that will solve COVID, but it will make our lives miserable.
And so all Democrats have left is two arguments. Number one, America is systemically racist; and number two, Trump is bad. The RNC blew up that narrative, though, in a big way, showcasing stories from everyday Americans, whose lives were impacted in profoundly positive ways by Trump's America-first policies, including African-American men and women. Now, this outreach has the Democrat ticket - I think it has completely flummoxed, as we saw in this "TODAY" show interview of Kamala Harris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CRAIG MELVIN, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: Compared to RNC's past, there seems to be a larger number of black men front and center. It would seem as if Republicans perhaps see an opportunity here that Democrats don't see?
HARRIS: First of all, every vote needs to be earned. And Joe and I believe that. So when we look at the condition of black men in America, we know we still have a whole lot of work to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: Wait a second. Your party has had decades to solve this problem, as you falsely peddled that narrative that Republicans are racist. And now Trump was delivering results. And the Democrats only know one thing, reverting back to the same stale old narratives. The Democrats are the ones trapped in the past now. And in spending time with them, it feels like kind of like you're stuck in a student sit-in that never ends. Look at what their voters are doing to people just trying to live their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put the mask on now. Mother (inaudible).
(CROWD CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: But it doesn't have to be this way. There is a normal world out there, and people in red states are already back to living in that world. School, work, sports, church, fellowship. I'm really excited about America in 2021 and 2022. I think the silent majority is stirring. Don't you?
Without COVID, Trump would have won in a landslide. But even with the virus, remember this. It's eventually going to go away or we'll have better therapeutics or treatments. But it's no reason to toss America in a dumpster and set her on fire. That's what the Democrats are doing to their own cities. They're now at risk of being left behind for decades if they don't make serious changes now. But that's up to them. But they're not going to stop us from living our God-given destiny in reaching for the stars. They might have given up on America, but the rest of us are giving her our all. And that's the "Angle."
Joining me now is Bernie Kerik, former NYPD Commissioner.
Bernie, Democrats think they can somehow blame the President for antifa and Black Lives Matter violence in their own cities even after they rejected his attempts to help them restore law and order. How twisted of a narrative is that one, Bernie?
BERNIE KERIK, FORMER NYPD COMMISSIONER: Well, it's pretty twisted. And Laura, I want to - I just want to touch on something because you've talked about it, these cities and why or how the executives, the mayors aren't doing their job.
I have to tell you, leaving the White House last night, as I walked through the streets, as a police executive and somebody that ran the NYPD, I was completely disgusted by the fact that the cops in D.C. are overworked, they didn't have enough resources, they didn't have the manpower they needed, they weren't in the right spots.
No genius had to tell you that there is going to be problems at the exit gates of the White House. There were hundreds of these lunatics out there, these antifa and "Black Lives Matter" screamers, and yet, there wasn't enough enforcement at those spots to keep people safe and secure. And we saw that with Rand Paul and a number of other people that left the White House. It's crazy.
And I have to wonder, is it intentional? Does the Mayor actually deplete the department to let this happen? I was completely disgusted with what I saw last night.
INGRAHAM: Yes. Bernie, lucky people weren't badly injured last night. When you have that many people, you got a lot of hot-tempers and you just have individuals who have to get to their hotel. They're walking one block, two blocks, three blocks. I mean, this is America. You should be able to walk to your hotel in the nation's capital, but that's not how it went down. They want to intimidate people away from going to Trump rallies exercising their Constitutional rights. You try that outside of an abortion clinic, just praying outside of an abortion clinic, and they'll - they'll call you a domestic terrorist, Bernie. KERIK: These people were harassed. They were taunted. They were threatened. They were spit at. They were throwing things at them. They surrounded them. They wouldn't let them pass. Criminal conduct, and there wasn't enough cops to deal with.
And I'm telling you, Laura, I have to believe this stuff is intentional. When you look at what's going on in the other cities, is that what's happening there too? Every one of these Democrat-run cities are responding the same way. Why? I don't know, but I can tell you that what I saw last night was disgusting.
INGRAHAM: Yes, it looks purposeful. They knew exactly what was going to happen. I mean, there's no way (inaudible) didn't know how this was going to go down. But this is what one BLM activist at this march today in Washington had to say about people holding Trump signs, Bernie. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FRANK NITTY, BLACK LIVES MATTER ACTIVIST: Everybody that came messing with us had Trump signs, Trump 2020. That's the new way that they exhibit racism in this country. (inaudible) So we've got vote Trump out of office, all right? It's time. This is the revolution. This is the revolution.
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: Bernie, they are being pretty explicit. They want a revolution. Burn it all down. That's what they want.
KERIK: There is your answer. There is your answer. Black Lives Matter, it's run by trained Marxists. They're inspired by Marxists. They have Marxist convicted felon, Marxists controlling their fund-raising. And that's - and these are revolutionaries. They are militant revolutionaries. That's what's working the streets in these - in these - and I'm not going to call it the protest - in these riots.
INGRAHAM: No, they're not protests.
KERIK: I'm (inaudible) people calling a peaceful protest. They're not peaceful protests.
INGRAHAM: Bernie, thank you very much. I saw you briefly last night on the White House lawn. I'm glad you got out of there.
Now, have you noticed--
KERIK: Thank you.
INGRAHAM: --that the protestors you see in the streets are described as powerful and moving? While those that gathered to hear the President are called super-spreaders. Well, we're going to reveal the media's cynical game here with Alex Berenson and Phil Kerpen in moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) INGRAHAM: Probably no better illustration of the media's bias and hypocrisy on COVID than how they cover Trump events versus left-wing radical protests. Now, this is how the press spun President Trump's speech to a live audience gathered on the White House lawn last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I've been talking to health officials across the country who are just abjectly mortified by what they're seeing from the south lawn, which looks like a potential super- spreader event.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI, MORNING JOE CO-HOST, MSNBC: --not shocked at all by the sort of grotesque display that was against the law. More super-grossed-out and really worried about the people who gathered there, who put their lives at risk.
JOE SCARBOROUGH, MORNING JOE CO-HOST, MSNBC: It's the Woodstock of germs, really. The Woodstock of germs.
(END VIDEO CLIP) INGRAHAM: How many of you think they're really worried about the health of the attendees? Now, here's how the media reacted to thousands of liberal activists marching through D.C. today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very energetic, passionate, peaceful crowd here. That is just what the organizers hope for.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is really a beautiful scene behind me. This is at the reflection pool. Many, many people linking their arms and holding their arms side-to-side. It was poignant and it was an incredible, powerful reminder.
(END VIDEO CLIP) (LAUGHTER) INGRAHAM: Now, joining me now is Phil Kerpen, President of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, and Alex Berenson, former New York Times reporter, author of "Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns."
Alex, I mean, you come from the media. Should we be surprised that the press is playing this game?
ALEX BERENSON, "UNREPORTED TRUTHS OF COVID" AUTHOR & FORMER NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER: I mean, I hate hearing this stuff, Laura. Can we talk about the science for a second? The science is that outdoor events, whether they're liberal, conservative, spring break, motorcycle rally, it doesn't matter, they really don't spread this virus. OK? There's been a lot of contact- tracing done in a lot of countries.
As far as spreads indoors, it spreads intrafamilially. It spreads in hospitals. It can sometimes spread in bars and - of all the public health measures, I would say closing bars is arguably the one that makes the most sense. They - none of them make that much sense, but that's the one that makes the most sense. It doesn't spread outdoors. And this is - it's a joke. And I don't understand whether these people genuinely don't understand the science or whether they're just playing games. It is so frustrating that after five months we're still talking about this.
INGRAHAM: Well, Alex, you are a little charitable there to your old buddies in the media. But I mean, they're not describing it accurately, not because they are stupid people. Lot of them are pretty smart people, but they're politically obsessed with defeating Trump in November.
Phil Kerpen, it was on display. I was there at the White House last night. Some people had masks. A lot of people didn't. And people were just living their lives. And that drove the left insane. People having fun together, fellowship, and listening to Trump, that's a nightmare for them.
PHIL KERPEN, COMMITTEE TO UNLEASH PROSPERITY: Right. Alex is exactly right. We do not have examples of outdoor super-spread events. There are about 1,400 catalogued super-spread events to find as five or more people infected that we've seen now from all over the world, 97 percent of them were exclusively indoors. The other 3 percent were a mix of indoor and outdoor. We've had no super-spread events anywhere in the world that were exclusively outdoors.
And to your point, Laura, when there was a big pushback that maybe the southern wave was caused by the George Floyd protests or things like that, what did all of the media do? They said, oh, no, it doesn't spread outside, it couldn't have been that, it doesn't spread outside. In that time, they wanted to look at all the science, and now, they conveniently forget all of that and it's an excuse to attack President Trump.
INGRAHAM: And Alex, when you look at where we are with the virus, I follow your tweets. You've been covering Texas, in particular, very closely with the numbers there. That was going to be the next New York, Florida was going to be New York, and everything was going to be New York. Tell us specifically about Texas, and then I'll share with everybody the news about how they're counting deaths and cases, I should say, there.
BERENSON: Sure. So, Texas hospitalizations peak, around 11,000. That was at the end of July. In the four weeks since, they fawned (ph) 60 percent to about 4,400 as of - I think as of yesterday. In Houston and Southeast Texas, which is really the hub of the early spike, numbers are down even further.
By the way, I just looked up the Florida numbers for deaths. And deaths lag. OK? So if deaths are going down, the epidemic is really on its way out in a state. Florida had 229 deaths on Friday, August 14th. Today, they reported 89 deaths. So that's a drop of 60 percent. And that's Friday-over- Friday. So it should be roughly comparable.
So - I mean, it's very hard to see anything but this epidemic in the south being basically over. And really without lockdowns - I mean, again, the only thing those states really did is they pushed masks a little bit and they closed bars. So if people are going to - three weeks ago, six weeks ago, all the people on t he left were screaming we need another lockdown, we need harder lockdown.
INGRAHAM: Yes. So Biden is saying - yes.
BERENSON: Fortunately, none of those governors gave me an--
INGRAHAM: Yes.
BERENSON: That's right. I mean, it's crazy. Considering what we've seen in the Sunbelt, anybody who proposes that is nuts. I mean, if the Democrats want to be the party of closed schools and open riots and lockdowns, I don't know how that works for them. Maybe it does.
INGRAHAM: Yes. Collin County in Texas, by the way, is the county that's had to completely readjust, Phil, their numbers down from thousands at one point, down by a multiple of that because of some type of unknown errors in reporting. Do you expect to see more of that as time goes on? Really quick.
KERPEN: Well, the Texas data is exceptionally bad. It's probably the worst data in the whole country. Their test positivity number is completely meaningless, as is their number of tests run per day. They have a system that was designed to process 40,000 tests a day. They've been running 100,000. So the backlog just keeps growing. They've got this system called - they've got this system where they have the pending assignment tests, which have to go to the counties to review, and then they come back.
INGRAHAM: Yes. Their total--
(CROSSTALK)
KERPEN: Some of them go into account, some of them disappear. Their numbers are meaningless, the test numbers.
INGRAHAM: OK.
KERPEN: Look at the hospitalizations.
INGRAHAM: Hospitalizations and deaths.
KERPEN: Hospitalizations--
(CROSSTALK)
INGRAHAM: And gentlemen, thank - yes, exactly. We've been saying this for months. And gentlemen, it's great to see both of you tonight. Thanks very much.
And coming up, Joe Biden fumbles and Kamala fizzles, as they attempt to respond to Trump's stirring RNC speech. Raymond Arroyo breaks it all down. "Friday Follies" next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHLEY STROHMIER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Live from America's news headquarters, I'm Ashley Strohmier.
Thousands gathering in the nation's capital to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the march on Washington, and renewed calls for racial justice. Speakers included the relatives of black people killed or hurt by police, the father of Jacob Blake, who was shot seven times by police, addressing the crowd.
That shooting sparking unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Protestors march from the Lincoln Memorial to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech at the 1963 march.
And "Black Panther" Chadwick Boseman has died following a four-year battle with colon cancer. He was also known for his roles as Jackie Robinson in "42" and James Brown in "Get on Up." His publicist says Boseman died at his home in the Los Angeles area with his wife and family by his side. Chadwick Boseman was 43 years old.
I'm Ashley Strohmier. Now back to "The Ingraham Angle."
INGRAHAM: It's Friday, and that means it's time for Friday Follies. Wrap of the GOP convention, the Democrat counterprogramming. We've got Raymond Arroyo, FOX News contributor, author of the forthcoming book "The Spider Who Saved Christmas." Ray, throughout the week, though they got little coverage, the Biden camp tried to rain on Trump's parade.
RAYMOND ARROYO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: They did, Laura. Kamala Harris actually gave a counter speech, which we'll get to in a second. But they tried to offer the guy at the top of the ticket, because I think they realized they were in trouble pushing Kamala out a bit too fast. And Biden did exactly two interviews from his beach house, which it became painfully clear that these are not so much interviews as read aloud story times with a script involved. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The country will be substantially safer when he is no longer in office. I'm going to work to calm the tensions and root out systemic racism. Taking away, he's still in court trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. He's going to take 100,000, 100 million people with preexisting conditions and move them in a direction where they can't get coverage. Coverage is going to be lost for so many.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: It's like he is doing a bad audition for the revival of "The West Wing," Laura, and he's never read the script before. And did you notice that ear tug. He does this little ear tug thing.
INGRAHAM: Can we see that again?
ARROYO: I don't know if it's somebody -- yes, I don't know if it's somebody speaking into an earpiece or if that's a sign of distress. But it usually comes when he has lost his way in an interview and he's looking for a way home, he does that little ear tuck.
INGRAHAM: That little, that's like Carol Burnett.
ARROYO: That's right. I'm so glad we had this time together. Help me.
Watch these back-to-back interviews, Laura. OK, this is Biden, and he's quoting Kellyanne Conway. And he does this unexpected discovery of this quote routine, like, oh, look what I found here. But he does it over and over again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I had a quote here from Kellyanne Conway.
Kellyanne Conway came out and was very, very blunt about it today. I think I have the quote here. She said the more chaos and anarchy and vandalism, the more violence equals a better -- better the choice for a very -- excuse me. Better for a very clear choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: The campaign, they have so little confidence in him.
ARROYO: He just read it. He just read it to Andrea. No, no, it's sad, because --
INGRAHAM: Look what I have here, Raymond. I just found a quote. I just read it five minutes to your colleague, but I just found it.
ARROYO: Right. And he loses his way. And they obviously have the script right there before him. And he's hello, Laura, it is great to see you. If only he would be a better candidate. This is what his interviews are like. And you see why Pelosi is out calling for an end to presidential debates. They fear putting him mano a mano opposite Donald Trump. And you can see why.
INGRAHAM: So they don't have confidence in him, so it was Kamala Harris that they sent out to do the prebuttal to Trump on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, (D-CA) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here's the thing - - Donald Trump's incompetence is nothing new. That has always been on full display. But in January of this year, it became deadly. That's when the threat of a virus that would endanger the world first emerged.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: I give her points for leaving the house, though, Laura. They finally have somebody on the team that can go out. But you notice how she seems out of sync. Kamala Harris always had her groove when she was in front of the cameras and on the campaign trail. Somehow she is missing a step and a beat marching with Joe Biden. He's thrown her off in the same way Sarah Palin I think was thrown off running with John McCain. They didn't quite fit. We are beginning to see first impressions of that lack of gel as we move forward here, and it's not good.
INGRAHAM: Wait, I have something to say -- wait, are they talking to me in my ear? No. Go ahead, Raymond.
(LAUGHTER)
ARROYO: OK, before we go, I have to mention the star studded, that fireworks studded finale at the Republican Convention. After a series of testimonials by everybody, by a woman who was freed from prison to a family whose daughter suffered at the hands of ISIS, Donald Trump took to the stage to accept the nomination of his party. And it was quite a moment. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: With steel in their spines, grit in their souls, and fire in their hearts, there is no one like us on earth.
America is not a land cloaked in darkness. America is the torch that enlightens the entire world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARROYO: There was a measured tone, Laura. We talked about this when we were out on the South Lawn. People saw something very different from the president than we have seen in past days, except for that Mount Rushmore speech. There was gravitas. He was the commander-in-chief. And I think it was a tone he needed to strike at this moment. It was emotional and caring, which his, again, he usually brings the fight. He doesn't always bring the emotional reasons to explain that fight. That's what we heard when he accepted this nomination. And I think it touched a lot of people and maybe changed some minds. We'll see in the days ahead.
INGRAHAM: Yes, I liked in the very beginning, and I'm glad to see -- by the way, I liked to see the fireworks, because we were behind a tree so I couldn't see them last night. So they are really beautiful. My goodness, I missed all that? But I loved it when he talked about his brother. And he just buried his brother, had lost his brother, his friends from COVID. There was a poignancy in Donald Trump last night that I think, especially a lot of women, they want to see that emotional core of the man. I think they saw it last night, Raymond.
ARROYO: I agree. I agree. I also think that firework display, Donald Trump is talking about a return to normalcy and traditional American values. He didn't just say it. We saw it in red, white, and blue, in music. It was hard to deny. And then you had the barbarians at the gates literally at the White House perimeter, banging drums, issues calls and sirens and horns, trying to interrupt. The contrast, the visualization of that dramatic moment could not have been more stark, I think, for Americans looking. It was great television, and an amazing moment, I think, in this campaign, maybe an inflection point.
INGRAHAM: I felt like we were hearing a Dr. Suess reading. The blew flandoogles (ph) and bugles outside the White House.
(LAUGHTER)
ARROYO: That's my next book. That's --
INGRAHAM: Raymond, it's Horton hears who a who are they out there? That's ridiculous. Anyway, Raymond --
ARROYO: Who are they? Who are they?
INGRAHAM: -- it was fun to cover this with you this week. Thanks so much.
And after capping that successful RNC with last night's rousing speech, will President Trump get that coveted post-convention bump? Tom Bevan and Lisa Boothe are here to weigh in. Plus, a special announcement for Monday's show. You don't want to miss it. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: After Joe Biden got virtually no post convention bump in the polls and was caught flatfooted responding to riots in all of these liberal cities, Democrats are freaking. Even Trump's most ardent critics in the media have to begrudgingly admit that the president should expect a surge in support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: I think it's important to note that I do expect that there might be some sort of narrowing in the polls after this unfiltered -- after this, rather, filtered week. But we still have many days to go, and we'll see if the president is able to stay as disciplined.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Here to weigh in is Tom Bevan, cofounder and president of Real Clear Politics, and Lisa Boothe, GOP strategist and FOX News contributor. Lisa, this tightening we see, will it be more because of the effectiveness of the RNC or the Democrats failure to define themselves during their week of their convention?
LISA BOOTHE, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think Americans saw what the two parties stand far. I think they saw the realignment that we've seen in both political parties where the Republican Party now is the party of hardworking Americans who are doing extraordinary things, who are on full display this entire last week, whereas when you look at the Democratic Party, they're really the party of the fringe left and the Hollywood elite.
And I think some of the most potent line of messaging we saw was from President Trump last night where he said Joe Biden for 47 years took donations from blue collar Americans, he gave them hugs and kisses, he told them that he felt their pain, and then went back to Washington, D.C. and voted to send their jobs to China. Also, that video we saw of New York City public housing residents talking about how liberals like Bill de Blasio gave preferential treatment over illegal immigrants who cut the line, broke the law to come here, over black Americans. I think some of that messaging that we're going to see over the next couple months is going to be incredibly moving and powerful.
INGRAHAM: And Tom, I want to show folks what the polling is looking like today in swing states compared to the same time in 2016. Here's the Real Clear Politics average. You know it well. Biden is leading Trump by three- and-a-half points in Wisconsin. But back in 2016, Hillary led by 11.5 percent. Biden both say 5.8 percent lead in Pennsylvania today, but that's less than the 9.2 percent, almost double, point lead that Hillary had in 2016. And then in Michigan, polls showing that Biden up now just 2.6 percent, again, where Hillary led by nine points four years ago. Tom, does this tell you anything significant?
TOM BEVAN, REAL CLEAR POLITICS CO-FOUNDER: Well, it tells you that this race is far from over. Hillary Clinton, remember, the Democrats went second last time around, and Hillary Clinton did get a pretty significant bump out of her convention in Philadelphia. That didn't last, though.
This time around, it's a completely different scenario, because the conventions are back-to-back. They are being held virtually. And what we did see from the limiting polling that came out, if you start from the day that the Democrats started the convention, August 17th, to now, that's been 11 days, Joe Biden has dropped about a half a percentage point nationally. He's dropped about 1.3 percentage in the top six battleground states in the aggregate.
And he's also, if you look at the betting averages, which is a really interesting thing to focus on, Biden started on the 17th ahead by about 14.5 percent. It's now down to about six. So the people who are putting their money down on who they think is going to win this race are viewing what they saw over the last 10 or so days pretty favorably for Trump and the Republicans and not so favorably for Biden and the Democrats.
INGRAHAM: And Lisa, I'm going to stick to these two issues that I think really do track sentiment in the public, even people who don't necessarily like all of Trump's tweets, et cetera, or his tone -- football and schools. Fall is back to school, and it's usually back to football. And you see a divide, those red states to blue states, with how they're treating both issues. Talk about that cultural touchstone and the educational component.
BOOTHE: I think when you look at certain places, even a state like Wisconsin, they don't want to hear Joe Biden talking about a national mask policy and also further lockdowns. You have a lot of hardworking Americans in states like Michigan and Wisconsin and Pennsylvania who want to go back to work. They want their kids to go back to work. They want life to go on as normal.
And I think another aspect, even just the violence we're seeing in places like Kenosha, Wisconsin, it matters. And it matters because when you look at Wisconsin, it's pivotal to whoever is going to end up winning the White House. And Kenosha is a swing county that went to President Trump, a Republican, for the first time in 44 years in 2016 to then candidate Trump. And where Kenosha goes typically the state goes. You also look at Kenosha County and the Milwaukee media markets, and when we're talking about those suburban moms that President Trump needs to win over, they're watching the local news and seeing what's going on in Kenosha. So I don't think -- there should be no downplaying of the impact that that's going to have on the electorate as well. I think that's something people should certainly keep their eye on.
INGRAHAM: Absolutely, the riots, the violence.
Tom, on the state by state races, with Senate races, David Perdue, of course senator from Georgia, just put out an ad linking his opponents to some of the unrest you're seeing in the streets. Watch.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to send a message that if you indulge this kind of politics, you're not just going to get beaten. You're going to get beaten so bad you can never run or show your face again in public, because we have had enough, absolutely enough of what we are getting from Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Tom, do you expect to see more of that type of ad as we get closer, especially in these key Senate races?
BEVAN: Oh, absolutely. Again, as Lisa mentioned, I think this is an issue that is going to move voters in a significant way. You're going to see the president and his team use this on ads in all of the swing states. And you can bet that there will be plenty, all of these Republicans that are running for Senate, whether they're incumbents or whether they're challengers, are also going to be tying their Democratic challengers to it.
And quite frankly, look, the Democrats haven't done a very good job of rebutting it. They haven't done a good job of coming out. And that started at the top with Joe Biden in saying this violence and the rioting and rooting is unacceptable and it won't be tolerated. They haven't gotten there. Maybe they will, but they haven't gotten there yet.
INGRAHAM: Well, riots started at the end of May, little late to be doing it now, but nevertheless we'll see how it plays out. Tom and Lisa, great to see both of you tonight. Thank you so much.
And coming up, we have a big announcement about Monday's show. Don't want to miss that. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
INGRAHAM: As we mentioned at the top, President Trump is not taking his foot off the gas. After an incredibly successful RNC, he hit New Hampshire tonight to continue making his case to America, while Joe Biden wallows in his basement, but promises appearances. That continues Monday night, where I'm going to sit down with the president exclusively from the White House. We hope to have him for the entire hour. We're going to work on that. I think we will get that. So be sure to tune in for the entire hour.
That's all the time we have tonight. Have an amazing weekend, hug your kids, fly your flag, appreciate the greatness of this country that you saw on full display this week. Shannon Bream and "FOX News at Night" team take it all from here. Shannon?
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